History has witnessed the coming and going of many great
civilisations. Through its long history, the Hindu civilisation has
endured numerous attacks and attempts at its destruction. However,
it has also produced a long line of heroes and warriors to rise up
and protect their motherland from the fate of every other ancient
civilisation. Bajirao Peshwa was one of the greatest warriors and
protectors of Hindu Dharma in the History of Bharat in the 18th
century.

Shrimant Bajirao Peshwa (August 18, 1700 – April 28,
1740) : The rebirth of Hindu polity after the Vijainaygar
Kingdom under the nomenclature of Hindu Pad Padshahi, well founded
by Chatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, attained shape during the ascendency
of the Peshwas.

Expert swordsman, outstanding rider, master strategist and leader
by example, Bajirao I succeeded his father as Peshwa when he was
only twenty years of age…launching into an illustrious military
career that occupies its own special place in the history of
Hindustan.

Peshwa Bajirao, the great
Maratha general and statesman, changed the map of India in the
mid-eighteenth century. His military campaigns were classic
examples of his genius. In the havoc of the religious intolerance
continued by the tottering Mughals after Aurangzeb, Bajirao stood
out as the champion of Hinduism as he protected Hindu Dharma from
the onslaught of Islamic rulers.

was he who expanded the Hindu Kingdom beyond
Maharashtra across the Vindhyas and got it recognised in Delhi, the
capital of the Mughals who kept Bharat (India) under their rule for
many hundred years. The Hindu Kingdom created by its
founder, Shivaji, and later expanded by Bajirao reached its peak
during his son’s reign twenty years after his death. After driving
the Afghans out of the Punjab, they raised the saffron flag of
Hindus not just on the walls of Attock, but even beyond.

Bajirao is thus acknowledged as one of the greatest warriors of
Hindu Dharma and the most famous ruler in the history of
Bharat. He was a noted general who served as Peshwa (Prime
Minister) to the fourth Chhatrapati (Emperor) Shahu.

Birth and early life of Bajirao : Baji was born on
August 18, 1700, as the eldest son of Peshwa Balaji Vishwanath Rao
who had taken the 'Peshwaship' to a new height. He belonged to the
reputed, traditional Chit-Pawan Brahmin family of Konkan. Balaji
Vishwanath (Father of Bajirao), though third among the Peshwas, had
overtaken his predecessors as far as his achievements were
concerned.

Thus, Bajirao was an infant with a silver spoon in his mouth.
Bajirao was well trained by the Maratha cavalry generals who were
distinguished in the war of 27 years. For the young Bajirao, in the
absence of his mother, his close association with his father was a
mobile school of politics. Bajirao, even while he was quite young,
rarely missed the military campaigns of his father. This provided
maturity to Bajirao, in practical military science. Father Balaji’s
role in Bajirao’s life was similar to that played by Mother Jijabai
in Chatrapati Shivaji’s life.

In 1716, Maharaja Shahu's army-in-chief Dabhaji Thorat
treacherously arrested Peshwa Balaji. Bajirao also chose to
accompany his father for two years till he was released. Bajirao
shared the torture bestowed upon his father during his
imprisonment. This experience brought him face to face with their
treachery.

The post-imprisonment career of Balaji Vishwanath reached a new
dimension in the history of the Maratha-Mughal relationship. Young
Bajirao was eye-witness to all this development. In 1718 AD he
travelled to Delhi along with his father. In the capital he
witnessed unimaginable intrigue and learnt quickly to cope with the
devious ways of political machinations.These and other experiences
coupled with his own youthful energy, vision and skill prepared him
for the position that he was to rise to. He was a natural leader
who preferred to lead by example, inspiring his troops by his own
skill at using the deadly circular danapatta sword of the Marathas
and riding a horse into the thick of battle.